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of Venus, goddess of love. Also, according to Greek legend, more romantically
the child of Zephyrus, the west wind and lris, the rainbow.
Cupid was romantically associated with Psyche, a
girl of such beauty that Venus, consumed with jealousy, sent her son
to take revenge on her. Instead, Cupid fell in love with Psyche and
spirited her away to a secret palace. When Cupid visited Psyche, he
remained invisible. When he allowed her to see her sisters, they convinced
Psyche she should find out what Cupid looked like. Psyche took a lamp
to watch him while he slept, but a drop of hot oil fell on his shoulder.
He woke up and flew away. Psyche searched for him, despite being harassed
by Venus and enduring many hardships, and Jupiter eventually reunited
her with Cupid.
The Greek origins of Eros had more to do with Creation.
He was the entity who brought harmony to Chaos, making the world habitable.
Cupid is most popularly depicted as a winged boy
with a bow and quiver of arrows, an idea artists used frequently, without
the weapons, in the more Christian cherubim and putti. The sculpture
of the Angel of Christian Charity, in London's Piccadilly Circus, was
a memorial dedicated to Lord Shaftesbury who worked so hard on behalf
of the Victorian disadvantaged, but this has become more commonly known
as Eros.
In the deity's earlier representations he was quite
often shown in the company of Psyche.
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